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I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

metro.co.uk

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Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#491

Post by broeng »

Brian_K_White wrote: post #460
broeng wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to you, when does a child earn their own share of sunlight, so their parents are not "overusing" their share? Is it at a certain age, or is that only for children born latest at $YOUR_BIRTHYEAR?

It's illogical to assume that was literal. They are pointing out that what the previous commenter said was ridiculous, by saying the same thing with merely other variables swapped in which more obviously illustrates how ridiculous the original statement was.

Fair enough, I'll admit I missed that completely.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#492

Post by ben_w »

coolThingsFirst wrote: post #489
ben_w wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're saying nearly half the workforce of Bulgaria doesn't have those things?

Entire house to themselves which they rent? They don’t.

Monthly rent €200: https://www.alo.bg/9325840

Monthly rent €450: https://www.property.bg/property-67234-fully-furnished-house...

Both are enough for bills and food, or at least seem to be (I don't know how property taxes work in Bulgaria).

And given that figure I gave you was average salary and thus won't cover kids or pensioners, mostly of the people at or below that threshold will be supporting a family with that money, not just themselves, and that's the main reason they won't be living alone.

FWIW, I could manage on €10k/year even though I live in Berlin, but I'm (a) weird and (b) also living with someone in an apartment. Still more space each than if we were trying to live on a train, though.

Back in the UK, you can also find cheap actually-a-house houses despite the nonsense that is UK housing: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144969266#/?channel=R... (£380 ~= €444 / month) — I think £332/month should just about cover one person's food and bills, including council tax, in the UK, so I'd be surprised if one couldn't do at least that well in Bulgaria, where 5% of the population have an income of €208/month or less.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#493

Post by RamblingCTO »

albert180 wrote: post #444
carlmr wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it unlikely, i know plenty of people personally that had something stolen in the high speed train in Germany while they weren't looking. And he's sleeping in the train every day.

Well, sounds like the people you know are not the brightest. Usually they make announcements on the stations where thefts occur to watch your belongings. (Usually where the train stays for 10-20 Minutes). I also don't know anyone who has gotten something stolen on the train personally.

Don't be a dick. It's easy to lose stuff to theft. It's got nothing to do with being bright.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#494

Post by dav_Oz »

teddyh wrote: post #225
dav_Oz wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On October he did began to incorporate the Global Pass (3 months) which got him as far as Istanbul and Ankara and high up north as Kiruna in Sweden, Lapland.[0] Seems a very cautious guy, as he was booking a night train from Budapest to Bucharest, apparently he was warned at the counter by an employee which made him very uneasy. Reminds of the story of that TEDx talk.[1] He is clearly enjoying it so I hope the positi…

> high up north as Kiruna in Sweden His northenmost point seems to have been Narvik (across the border in Norway). From what I can tell, that’s almost 70km (more than 40 miles) north of Kiruna.

Thanks for the correction, I remembered it wrong.

From his blog:

>[...]Eine ganz besondere Zugfahrt zum nördlichsten Bahnhof Europas, Narvik.

>A very special train journey to the northernmost railroad station in Europe, Narvik. [0]

[0]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narvik_Station

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#497

Post by immibis »

vkou wrote: post #397
immibis wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If nobody minds, then in what sense is it not okay? If the space is needed for luggage, I'm sure he will be asked to move.

> If nobody minds, then in what sense is it not okay? Nobody might mind a one-off antisocial behaviour, but if it becomes a pattern, or if everyone starts doing it, everyone might start minding it.

So hypothetically, if things were different, it might not be okay... so it's okay now.

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#498

Post by 1123581321 »

lsajdn872he wrote: post #490
1123581321 wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are services/agents that act as your address. Not everyone chooses to do this but what you describe is solvable.

Are there, in Europe? I'd love to hear more about that if you know of something. I'm living in a van (by choice) and I have had issues with getting a mailing address. Currently registered at a friends place, but won't last forever. The post forwarding service is also not reliable and does not forward all mail anyway.

I found Clevver, which appears to have a few dozen locations available in Europe. Possibly based in Germany. It looks similar to EarthClassMail in the US. https://www.clevver.io/clevvermail-pricing/

Re: I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train

#499

Post by danielfoster »

mateo1 wrote: post #455
landgenoot wrote: post #195

Reminds me of the ads on the city buses in Berlin > 60m^2, keine Küche, kein Bad - Für 60,66 EUR warm im Monat. EN: 60 square meters, no kitchen, no bathroom - for just 60.66 EUR per month, utilities included. https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/20182186004296102...

Well, he's not the only one living on a moving vehicle. Tons of homeless people get bus passes and ride around all day and night. A train ride is less bumpy, sure, but it's effectively the same. Although what probably happens is that this kid goes on weekend train trips and comes back home the next day, unless he's seriously mentally ill. Even the most dedicated backpacker would give up on this after a week. It's bas…

If I understood the situation correctly, he times his day train to book a night train with a sleeping berth. Still, I agree. I would find this very uncomfortable after some time.

Hopefully he also has friends he can stay with in various cities.

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